Brainstorming on.... HAIR

I've already started trolling around www.etsy.com's wedding section in search of the perfect hair accessory for the ceremony. (As of today) I think I'll wear my hair down (maybe half up?) and very curly with a veil for the ceremony. But for the reception, I want to be able to party, so I've been thinking about doing a switcheroo before the reception and pulling my hair into curly/messy low bun and throwing something fun in my hair. I'm thinking a flower/fascinator/feathery creation, but I haven't found THE ONE yet (sometimes I think it was easier finding the guy than all the other stuff! haha). I was just trolling around theknot.com (I do a lot of trolling lately) and found this:
Kind of love it a lot. I have tomorrow off and I think I might have to meander over to A.C. Moore and pick up some crafty things and attempt something like this (minus the veil). Isn't that pretty? That's how I picture my hair, too. I just think it'll be easier to boogie down with all our guests if my hair and a long veil aren't getting in the way. Plus, it's like a mini-costume change since I don't think I'll be doing any real costume changes that night.

The wedding that this picture is from is absolutely gorgeous (http://www.erinheartscourt.com/blog/). Look! They played a black and white movie during their reception! Dreamy.


These two are so cute it makes me sick. And their photographer was amazing!


Well this post got a little off topic! :)

Trolley-tastic!

So on my lunch break I received an email from Viking Tours of Newport in response to my inquiry about booking a trolley for our wedding. They sent me some info and said they still had our date open, so I quickly called Matt, forwarded the email to him, and we both agreed pretty quickly that we had to do it The trolley is adorable. Check it out! http://www.newportweddingtrolley.com/

I'm excited. The trolley holds 30 people, which will comfortably accommodate our insanely large wedding party as well as our parents. I'm loving these easy decisions! This was a no-brainer. We had no other way to really get our party around unless we got an enormous limo, or a few smaller ones. We weren't really sure what we were going to do, actually!

But now we have a trolley! I'm so excited. I've never ridden in a trolley before, so this will be special. We can decorate it, too! Start brainstorming, bridal party :)

Photographer Success!

This weekend was hectic, but really productive for me and Matt. He got to my house on Friday evening around 5:30, and by 7:00 we were out the door and on our way to Pawtucket to meet with Erick Brown. His studio is in his backyard in a small, converted garage, and it's the most adorable thing I've ever seen. He's got framed pictures everywhere, a wall of pictures of the couples he's shot recently, a huge projection screen on the back wall where he plays slide shows of past weddings, and adorable ourdoorsy wicker furniture. He greeted us and we sat down and started looking at his albums, and before we could tell him that we wanted a mix of traditional pictures and really fun, candid ones, he came right out and said that his approach is to capture the traditional shots, but to mix in a good dose of fun ones as well. Perfect!

There was one picture on the wall that we both kept looking at because it was so beautiful, and after we told him we thought we might do pictures at Goddard Park, he said that Potowamut Point (not sure I'm spelling that correctly) is at the end of the road past Goddard, and then pointed to the picture and said, "That one was taken there, actually." He told us that's a good place to go because there are usually less people than at the park, and the neighbors that live on that beach are really friendly and sometimes invite the wedding parties into their gazebos for pictures. Matt and I took a quick ride down there last night after picking up Seven Moons for dinner (mmmm) and we were sold. It's definitely a great spot.

So anyway, the longer we talked with Erick, the more we liked what he had to offer. He was very honest and straightforward with us and there was no pressure from him at all. His packages are incredible compared to other photographers, price-wise and also what comes in the package. As we were walking back to the car Matt and I looked at each other and half-joked about just signing the contract and giving it back to him before we left. I could tell he was our photographer because we were excited. We left the meeting feeling really good about the work he'll do and his overall professionalism. We made our minds up on Friday night, essentially. Even still, we went ahead with our two scheduled meetings on Saturday and liked them both quite a bit, but they didn't really compare to Erick. The packages were a little more expensive and didn't have as much included in them. We were looking for someone a little different, and I think we found that in Erick!

I'm going to give him a call tonight and tell him we'd like to sign him, and then we'll be all set with the big stuff! Now we can focus on... what?? This might actually be the point where we can relax for a while until all the little things start needing to be done!

We have:
*The church (Sts. Rose and Clement)
*The reception (Crowne Plaza)
*The band (Wayz and Means)
*Musicians for the Ceremony
*Priest for the Ceremony
*The photog (Erick Brown)
*My dress
*The bridal party
*Invitations
*Color scheme
*Florist
*Marriage Prep class booked

I guess the next logical thing to do would be to start thinking about the Save The Dates. But really, even that doesn't have to be done for a while longer! Hooray for wedding planning. It really isn't too hard, especially with a wonderful and involved fiance! :)

Another Nightmare!?

I'm not normally one to have bad dreams, but I just woke up from the third or fourth nightmare I've had so far about the wedding! This one was really vivid.

In the dream it was our wedding day and I was standing outside the doors of the church with my dad, barefoot (where are my shoes??), and when the doors open we start walking up the wrong aisle (there are a few rows of pews in this church). In addition to that, the lights were off and it was dark outside (really dark for 2:30 pm!) and the church looked awful without lighting.

There's no music playing, but we keep walking, and the walk ends up being about 3 seconds long, which I thought was weird. When we get to the altar, Matt's not there because he apparently was running late and no one told me. Then I realized that not only was Matt missing, but so was the priest-- instead of being the priest Matt asked to do the mass (his family friend and childhood pastor), it was the church's priest. And even though we met with the Deacon and he said guest priests were totally fine, this guy was telling me that they didn't allow guest priests and he turned ours away that morning! What?!

And then my father ran off to try and figure out why the musicians didn't play anything while we walked down the aisle, so I was standing awkwardly at the altar all alone when the priest said, "You stay right there. I don't need you running off and changing your mind." What again?!

I was like, "I won't change my mind... don't worry," and stomped off, barefoot, to figure out what was going on. My dad reappears and says, "All set! Let's do that entrance again!" and all the bridesmaids and groomsman file out and I follow them out and then I woke up.

Jeez.

When I'm awake, I'm not stressed about the wedding at all. I'm excited! I don't understand why my unconscious mind keeps freaking out. We're just under a year away-- it seems too soon for me to be waking up in a panic, right?

Well, in any event, Matt arrives later today and we've got a fun-filled photographer-meeting-y weekend ahead of us, and really, just having him here with me will make this week worth all the stress and wedding nightmares!

(Here's a picture of the church, although in my dream it looked nothing like this):

Thinking of Photos...

This week has been pretty crappy, I have to say. It's been long and stressful and I'm very much looking forward to Matt getting here tomorrow night. We have a meeting with Erick Brown tomorrow night, Catherine Hellman on Saturday morning, and Kristen Coffman after that. We also have a meeting at East Greenwich Photo, but I'm on the fence and we might cancel it if the other 3 go well because I think they'll be pricey. We also have the possibility of using the same wonderful photographer that Andrew and Lisa used for their wedding, but we're waiting to hear back from her... She's not doing weddings anymore, so if she agreed, she'd be doing us a huge favor. Hopefully Matt will remember to call her and touch base tonight so we know what we're doing.. We really have to make a decision about the photographer ASAP because we also have a deposit on Bella Photography, but we can get a refund on that by the end of the month if we go with a different photographer. Plus we're pushing it time-wise. Less than a year til the wedding, and we don't have a photographer booked. All my magazines say this is dangerous.

It's so much to think about! I want to make a list of questions for each photographer so we can really get an idea of how they work, but I don't know where to start. I'm planning on making a list of shots we absolutely must have, but that can come way later. I guess right now what matters is finding a photographer that has a beautiful portfolio, great personality and packages that don't cost an arm and leg!

The good news-- once we make a decision, we'll have the "major" things all taken care of!

A Wedding Poem...

So my dear friend Kali, who I've known for about 4 years now, is a poet in the MFA program at Lesley, where I'm studying fiction. We've always written each other letters-- the real kind that you have to put a stamp on and lick shut! It's a wonderful way to cultivate a friendship. We're both writers by nature, so words are how we've always connected.

Anyway, I asked Kali to write me a poem the other day and she wrote such a lovely one that I had to share it with you all. Matt and I think we'll use it in the wedding program. Kali was one of the people who watched our relationship bloom from the start, so it was nice having her poetic perspective on it... Enjoy!

Rumba Ocean

For Matthew and Kristin Offiler

One way streets

red arrows point

toward goodbye. Never Again.

Announcement Airport

speaker: flight with a lover

untouched landed. Mother’s Day.

They waited, we waited

so long for this day

when you’d return

home by the shore,

whispers of

forever.

She says, breathing him in

crawling, curling toward

his heart; the only life that matters.

Sunflowered

Kansas yellow skies

are tiny threads of

this story.

Tonight we’ll return

again to the waves

infuse joy with salt water

roll cuffs in our pants

and rumba, future.

She looks to the

plum orange skies

of a moment that means life.

Grasps his fingertips

with laughter and they sway

inside of Dawn.

what i have inside me, for you

sacred yellows unknown oceans.

With love and blessings,

Kali M. Lamparelli August 14, 2009.

Summertime finally

The weather for the past three days has been very summery, and I have to say I'm loving it. It's Sunday night right now and I'm thinking about this weekend and how great it was. On Friday some of the bridesmaids and I went to lunch and then headed to The Bridal Garden in East Greenwich to peruse the b-maid dress selection there. I'm not very concerned with the shade of chocolate brown that the girls get (they're picking their own style dress), but they did point out to me that sometimes the shade varies from designer to designer. I'm sure it'll work out fine, though. Luckily they all found dresses they either a. liked a lot and are pretty sure they'll get or b. thought were cute and now have a direction for what styles they like. It was a lot of fun because the attention was totally on THE GIRLS! And whatever, I know I'm the bride and all, but these girls are wonderful ladies and they deserve days devoted to decking them out like the superstars they are. This was the first of many group outings and hang-outs and I'm really looking forward to them all! It's so nice to be surrounded by friends and to feel the love and energy from them, and to know they not only have my best interest at heart, but also that they're going to make this planning process so much fun.


Then, after outing, Matt arrived from Fort Devens where he's doing his time with the Reserves. We headed over to Andrew and Lisa's apartment so Matt could finally meet the not-so-little-anymore kittens, Archie and Merlin. We hung out over there for a while and had a great time, Lisa and I looking at dresses online while the guys tossed a ball back and forth and drove the cats crazy. Someday they'll be doing that with our children. Eek.

Saturday afternoon Matt and I headed to Cape Cod, and unfortunately hit traffic on rt. 25, about seven miles from the bridge. Long story short: it was 85 degrees, humid as heck, and the AC in my car is broken. Not happy campers! But when we got to his parents' house, they had the AC going and I'm sure we've never been happier. That night we went to see the Saw Doctors at the Melody Tent, and it was an experience, let me tell you! This summer has been my introduction to cult-like musical followings: first Jimmy Buffet in June, now the Saw Doctors. You don't just like the Saw Doctors; apparently, you love them (HI ANNE!). It was a ton of fun, although Matt and I crashed when we got home (don't keep us out past 10 pm... we're in our 20s but already acting like we're 75).

This morning we went to church and then headed back to RI for my brother's graduation party. Wouldn't you know-- more traffic! We just couldn't hit it right this weekend. It wasn't as bad getting off Cape actually. We made it back to RI in an hour and 45 mins and then spent the night with my family and our family friends, eating and cooking out and playing Apples to Apples. Matt left about an hour and a half ago to head back to Fort Devens because he has to work tomorrow... such a bummer.

That reminds me, I said I'd call at 9:30 and it's 9:40! Off to check on my wonderful fiance, the amazing man I am so excited to marry in less than a year :)

DIY madness

Ok, just a quick lunchtime post to share a new obsession that just began about 15 minutes ago. www.oncewed.com is awesome. I think I might have to recruit my local bridesmaids one weekend and have a crafting party and see if we can pull off any of this stuff! Here's my latest idea (please ignore the embellishments on the example... it's a little over the top for my taste, but you get the idea!)

http://www.oncewed.com/10483/diy/accessories/diy-bridesmaids-headband/


I'm thinking blue or yellow headbands with feathers (if the girls want) or other pretty embellishments. I think I'll need to raid A.C. Moore for fun stuff then have the girls over to craft. Ohhhh, I can feel the crafting bug already getting to me...

Lunch Break Brainstorm

I only work part-time, but between my job, reading and writing for grad school, spending time with Matt, friends and family, and trying to organize my life, work out on a regular basis, and get enough sleep... I feel crunched for time. So I've been doing some of my wedding brainstorming on my lovely 2 hour lunch break. Today I'm only spending 30 minutes or so on marthastewartweddings.com, but it's enough to generate some cute ideas. See below:

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/instant-album?


http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/article/colorful-cards-guest-book?

Ring Brainstorming

Matt's got it pretty easy. We've gone to a few stores and tried wedding bands on, only to find that hardly anything fits my engagement ring, while he can pretty much get whatever ring he wants. Lucky guy.

I've got a few options. I know someone who can custom make a ring for me to fit the shape of my ring (not that it's that unusual in shape... it just prevents bands from sitting flush against it).
But lately I've been thinking that I would really like a band that isn't shaped funny, just in case I ever want to wear it alone. So, do I deal with a band not sitting flush against my ring (the gap really isn't that bad), or do I have one made to fit with my ring and just count on wearing them together for most of my life? Hmm. Another option I'm kind of liking is wearing stackables. I guess the idea is you get one for your wedding band, and another for an anniversary. Here's an example:
Gorgeous, huh? Probably very pricey, too. I'm usually not one to spend mega-bucks on anything (I'm convinced that 95% of things out there can be found less expensive elsewhere), but I guess this is different. This is the one piece of jewelry I'll wear for life. So I guess in that case it should be something that I'll enjoy looking at forever. The rings in the above pictures a a little too blingy for me, but I like the stacking concept and the idea of having a meaning for each one.

My other option is a simple band that matches what Matt chooses. Are we supposed to match? I'm not even sure of the trends in wedding bands nowadays. In any event, I have lots and lots of time to figure it out... it's just fun to look at pretty rings and drool!

Any tips out there? Lemme hear 'em!

So many ideas..

I've been on a cleaning kick this past week, and it's triggered something in the creative sector of my brain. My inner crafter is clawing her way out, and who am I to hold her back? After browsing some wedding sites this evening (after purging my bookcase of 31 books that need to move out or risk being evicted), I've been thinking that I'd like to try and DIY as much as I can for the wedding. It'll make it more personal, and it's DEFINITELY more affordable. Here are my thoughts so far:

*DIY card box: http://www.merrimentdesign.com/covered-card-box-for-weddings.php *DIY hair fascinator for reception: http://diy.weddingbee.com/topic/mrs-pineapples-a-wedding-in-a-week-hair-flower

*Ceremony Programs: http://www.merrimentdesign.com/double-zigzag-sewn-wedding-program-booklet.php


This merrimentdesign.com lady is killing me with her crafty cuteness. I love it! I'm also thinking about making the guest book either in scrapbook format OR blurb book format. I thought we could fill it with time line of pictures (baby pics through recent ones perhaps?) and leave blank pages for guests to writes messages. I'm itching to make stuff! Who's with me?! :)

EDIT:

I am dying over this. So cute, so much personality, so easy. I LOVE IT:

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/good-things/blooming-rings?backto=true

Honeymoon ideas anyone?

I know it's early, but I've already started daydreaming about our honeymoon. We know for sure we'd like to visit some place warm and beachy, preferably with outdoor activities during the day and maybe a dinner or two on the beach by night. I have no idea where we'll end up, but my beautiful future-sister-in-law Lisa showed me the website www.9beaches.com. Be warned: if you're going to go to the website, prepare to cry and whine, "I wanna goooooooooooo" over and over until you convince yourself that you will someday get there. It's amazing-- little cabanas perched over the Caribbean ocean, some with see-through floors that allow you to look down on the fish swimming through the crystal clear water beneath you. HEAVEN, I tell you.

Too bad it's probably out of our price range. But, we can dream!

This is another topic where I'm 100% open for suggestions. While I'm hoping for a tropical island get-away, it really doesn't matter. I'd be just as happy some place interesting or unique or romantic. I don't even need to leave the US if we can find a city we'd both like to visit. We tend to have fun when we explore new places together, so I'm sure we'll have a great time no matter the location.

But really..... who wouldn't want to wake up and look at the floor and see clear blue water and fish? Sign me up!